The Girl From the Land of Waves (A Naruto Fanfic)
by Kekkei-Genkai42
Summary: The summary is listed in the book in greater detail than I'd be able to put here. :)
1. Disclaimer

I don't own Naruto! I never have and probably never will. :P I only own Yumi, the Isoya Clan, Tekeshi, and any other OCs I come up with. ;) I don't own any of the pictures I post either, unless otherwise stated. Also, I'm only going to post this once, since I don't feel like putting it at the beginning of every chapter. I hope you enjoy this book, be sure to comment and vote!

Stay awesome

Kumiko Sakamoto


	2. Introduction (description)

Yumi was born to the only ninja clan in the Land of Waves: The Isoya Clan, which called a small, abandoned island it's home. She grew up just like every other young girl, she had friends, a large family and anything she could possibly want. But nothing stays perfect forever.

As she grew and matured it soon became clear she was going to be a great shinobi. But everything came crashing to an abrupt end when her clan was murdered by the only person she ever looked up to, her older cousin, Takeshi. Or so she believes.

Yumi is heartbroken after their deaths and flees her village to escape her cousin's wrath. She travels through villages for nearly seven years, always alone, and never stays in one place too long. Until she stumbles upon Konoha.

Are the kind hearted, trusting people of the Village Hidden in the Leaves enough to make her cold heart warm? Or will she continue on the path of revenge? And what about the secrets buried deep within her memories? They have the power to heal or to destroy, to help or to hurt, so what happens when Yumi discovers the truth about her past?


	3. Facts About Yumi

Name: Yumi Isoya

Age: 14

Height: 5'4"

Looks: Yumi has beyond-the-waist dark blue hair that she wears in a high pony tail, although her bangs hang in her eyes. Her eyes are blue as well. When her Kekkei Genkai is activated her hair fades to white and her eyes change to red.

Likes: Manipulating people, reading, training and exploring.

Dislikes: People, her cousin and being tickled.

Hobbies: Unknown.

Dreams for the future: To become the strongest prodigy of the Isoya clan she can be.

Fighting style: Prefers taijutsu but is exceptionally skilled at both ninjutsu and genjutsu. She has two chakra natures: Water and lightning. She works with her Kekkei Genkai, Takamemasu (which will be explained in more detail in the book), quite a bit as well.


	4. Chapter 1

**Yumi's POV.**

I dodged to the right, grabbing my assailant's foot and flipping him over my head. He went sailing through the air and his back slammed against a tree with a resounding crack. He groaned as his legs gave out from under him and he fell to the ground panting. I smirked and slowly walked over to him, pulling out a kunai and holding it against his throat. His eyes widened as I slid it across his Adam's Apple, drawing blood.

"You're just as pathetic as the others. I thought my cousin was better than this," I paused as a thought popped into my head, "Is he too scared to fight me himself?" I pouted at the bruised and battered man before me as he shook with fear. He knew what I had done to the others and he obviously knew what I was capable of. I looked at him with fake hurt on my face, red eyes flashing, " _You_ aren't scared of me, are you?" I asked. He didn't respond, but his shaking increased, making me laugh. I leaned in and put my mouth next to his ear, smiling sadistically. "Good."

I slit his throat and turned on my heel, ignoring his gurgling cries, and jumped into the trees continuing on my way. _What would your parents think of you?_ I couldn't help wondering. _You go around senselessly killing people now. Before your clan died-_ I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of a twig snapping behind me. I quickly increased my speed, charging through the trees at break-neck speed. I was really starting to get annoyed with this; I hated having to constantly be on the move. It had been like this for nearly seven years.

I gritted my teeth and stopped short, figuring it'd be better to get it over with instead of dragging it out. I sensed some one watching me from behind and spun around, glaring in the direction I thought they were. "Come out, come out, wherever you are,"I taunted. I ducked easily as a kunai shot towards my head, laughter bubbling in my throat as I pulled it out of the tree it had embedded itself in, where I was standing just a moment before. "You'll have to better than that, sweetheart," I sneered as a tall, shadowy figure emerged from the trees. I faced him, wearing my seemingly ever-present scowl. "Isn't that right, Takeshi?" My cousin chuckled, his broad, muscled shoulders shaking. He pulled down his hood, revealing his face.

I sucked in an involuntary breath as I took him in. He looked exactly like he did all those years ago. His blood red eyes glowing in the night in contrast to his pale face and an image of my family's mauled bodies flashed through my mind as Takeshi grinned, his canines glinting dangerously in the moonlight.

"Ah, my dearest cousin. Genki desu ka?* I hope those men didn't hurt you earlier... You looked a little..." he searched around for the right word, his gaze drifting around at the trees as if the word he was looking for would be found in them. "Overwhelmed." My scowl deepened and his grin faded to a smirk, but remained nonetheless.

"My taunting finally brought you out from the shadows did it?" I growled, taking up a fighting stance. If he was going to attack I wanted to be ready.

Takeshi merely sighed at my reaction and ignored my jab. "Yumi, I haven't come here to fight you. I came here to warn you." I snorted. Like I was going to buy that. How stupid does he think I am?

"Like heck you haven't," I spat, widening my stance. Takeshi sighed again, seemingly bored, which made me even madder at him. Why wouldn't he just attack and get it over with already instead of dragging it out?

"I'll just get right to the point."

"Please do."

He glared at me before continuing, "There's a man, Oro- um, well, you don't need to know his name yet," he stuttered, correcting himself. I looked at him suspiciously but didn't interrupt. "But, by the end of this year he'll be coming to collect you. I suggest you disappear; go somewhere no one can find you, change your name, dye your hair, anything you can do to hide from him." I straightened up. Why did Takeshi care? He tried to kill me -multiple times- why would he care if someone else tried it?

"What do you care if he tries to kill me?" I asked, my confusion quite evident in my voice. Takeshi's eyes locked with mine and I had to resist the urge to shrink away.

"Kill you? No, he doesn't want you dead, Yumi," he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

"What does he want with me then?"

"He, uh... He wants to make you his protégé." he stated. Now I was really confused, what was so bad about that?

"So?" I questioned. Takeshi turned serious, squaring his shoulders.

"Yumi, he is not someone you want to get involved with, believe me." He said and I laughed incredulously; I'd had just about enough of this. What right did he have to tell me who to get involved with? He was an S-ranked criminal! Whatever right he had he threw away when he killed our family.

"What is this all about? You try to kill me for six years and all of a sudden you're trying to save me? I don't know what you're playing at but listen up, Takeshi. I don't care what you think. I can join whoever I want," I narrowed my eyes and took a step forward as I continued, "So go crawl back under the rock you crawled out from under and die." I huffed and turned, jumping into the trees and running away from my cousin.

"When he comes for you, run Yumi! Don't let him catch you!" I heard him call after me. I rolled my eyes. Knowing Takeshi, he was trying to keep me from becoming stronger. _Hmph, I'll show him._ I sped off into the trees, pushing myself as hard as I could. I had always prided myself in my speed. I had been faster than most of my friends growing up in my village. I loved running, I felt free, like nothing was holding me back.

My thoughts drifted back to the conversation I had just had with my cousin. I was still extremely confused, why hadn't he tried to kill me when he had the chance? Then again, why hadn't _I_ killed _him_ when I had the chance? I frowned in displeasure as I realized that the thought hadn't even crossed my mind.

 _I must be going soft._ I thought as I charged through the forest.

Two hours later I slowed my pace as I came to a clearing. A village came into view and I stepped up to the large gate where two chunin were sitting, guarding it. They both jumped to their feet as I came into view.

"Halt! State your business!" they chorused. I sighed. They're obviously idiots.

"Keep your pants on, I'm just passing through. What village is this?"

"This? This is The Village Hidden in the Leaves; Konohagakure," the one with the black hair stated. I blinked in surprise. Had I really come that far? Wow, I ran faster than I thought.

"Konoha, huh? May I speak to the leader?" The two guards shared a look before turning back to me.

"You mean Lord Hokage?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess," I shrugged. I had never paid much attention to who the leaders of each village were. It was all a jumble of confusing and meaningless names to me. I was the single most important person in my world; I fought for only myself, I cared for only myself and that was the way it was going to stay. The black haired man nodded and poofed away, returning a moment later with a silver haired Jonin with a mask covering the lower half of his face and his Leaf Headband pulled over his left eye.

"Kakashi, could you escort, uh..." He trailed off as and looked at me questioningly, searching for my name. I debated whether or not I should use an alias for a moment but decided against it. I'd only be spending a maximum of a week here anyway.

"Yumi."

"Right," His attention returned to Kakashi as he continued,"Could you escort Yumi to the Hokage's office?" Kakashi nodded and gave me a closed eye smile before holding out his arm. Well, I had assumed it was a closed eye smile, he might just have had something in his eye. It was hard to tell due to the fact that most of his face was covered. I reluctantly took his arm and before I knew it we were standing in a hallway waiting to be let into the Hokage's office.

A gruff voice called out a, "Come in" a moment before the doors were opened and Kakashi and I entered the bright room. The old man sitting behind the desk smiled warmly at me around his pipe and nodded in greeting at Kakashi.

"Ah, Kakashi. Nice to see you again," the old man greeted.

Kakashi bowed before addressing the Hokage, "Konnichiwa**, Hokage-sama. This is Yumi, uh..." Kakashi glanced at me questionably. Oh, that's right I hadn't given them my last name. I began to panic, I wasn't sure if I wanted them to know who I was or not. Eh, it's not like I'm a criminal or anything, well, not really, so who cares?

"Yumi... Isoya." I ground out. Judging by how Kakashi's visible eye widened, I was assuming he heard it even if I had been addressing the Hokage. I shrugged it off; I was used to people having that reaction.

"Isoya, huh?" The Hokage motioned for me to sit. "Well, have a seat and let's discuss accommodations for you, shall we?"

 **What'd you think? Please let me know if you find any spelling mistakes or places that don't make sense. I'll fix them as soon as I can. :) Thank's for reading!**

 ***Genki desu ka? = Are you well?/How are you?**

 ****Konnichiwa. = Hello.**

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 **Stay Awesome**

 **Kumiko Sakamoto**


	5. Chapter 2

Yumi's pov.

I sighed as I looked around the village. It was nice, I must admit, little shops decorated the streets and the shouts of people filled the air. It was all so... Underwhelming. I mean, it was OK. I guess. The only thing I was impressed about so far was their weapons shop. It had a large selection of different kunai, shuriken, bombs, explosive clay and many other essential weapons.

The Hokage had made arrangements for me to stay in a hotel for three days. That was just enough time to get a few supplies and rest before I had to resume my journey.

A loud grumble erupted from my stomach and I realized just how hungry I was, as I hadn't eaten anything all day. Pretty soon I stumbled upon a ramen shop. My feet started to carry me away from it but a pang of hunger made me stop. I weighed the chances of me finding another place to eat soon against just sitting down and eating here. There was about a 40% chance that there'd be another restaurant within a quarter mile radius of the ramen shop, but I didn't feel like walking any further so I took a seat at one of the stools and quickly placed my order. The smells of the shop filled my nose, making my mouth water and my stomach make another loud noise. The shop's owner returned a few moments later with a steaming bowl of Miso Ramen and I quickly broke apart my chopsticks and dug in.

I was so absorbed in eating I didn't even notice when a blonde haired boy not much younger than myself came in and sat next to me. Although after a few minutes of him staring -indiscreetly I might add- at me I sighed and looked over at him. He quickly returned his attention to his bowl of ramen.

I studied him closely for a few moments. His unruly blonde hair stuck out all over and he was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit with his Leaf Village Headband tied around his forehead. Why did he look so familiar? I'd never seen him before... Then something clicked in my mind, I'd never met him in person but I had heard of him before. He was the Nine Tail's Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. He was cuter than I thought he'd be in all honesty. From the stories I had heard I was expecting him to be a little kid, but he couldn't have been much younger than myself. His staring was a little childish, however.

"See something you like?" The blonde flinched at the sound of my voice and quickly snapped his head back to look at the bowl of ramen before him. I smirked when I saw his face go red.

"U-uhh, n-no!" He stuttered, still not looking at me. I grasped my heart in mock pain and my eyes wavered as I looked at him making his own widen. "N-Not that you're not pretty! I-I just, uh... well I-" My snort cut him off. He tilted his head to the side, clearly confused. "Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"For a Genin, you sure are gullible." He scowled at me, but after a few moments we both went back to eating our ramen in silence. It wasn't long before I finished my bowl and set out the money for it and started heading out of the shop, but before I reached the curtain at the exit I turned and addressed Naruto again,"I'm Yumi by the way, Naruto-kun," I purred. His eyes widened as I said his name.

"How-"

"I know everything about you Naruto." If possible his eyes widened even more. I was surprised they didn't pop out of his head. "Didn't your parents teach you not to stare?" He flinched slightly and his eyes glazed over for a brief second before returning to normal. "It's rude," I continued, a smirk playing on my lips. "Although, I know it's hard not to stare at all this." I gestured to my body and struck a pose. Naruto's face flushed to red yet again. I released a slight chuckle again at his reaction and winked at him before walking away down the street.

I obviously wasn't paying attention very well to my surroundings because I slammed into something hard and fell to the ground with a thump. "Hey! Watch it you dobe!" I growled whilst rubbing my head. I looked up to see the most beautiful hazel colored eyes I had ever seen. "Oh." I mentally facepalmed. _Oh? That's all you could get out?_

"Oh man, this is such a drag. Sorry, I didn't see you." The tall, black haired boy rubbed the back of his head nervously. I stared at him like an idiot. _What's wrong with me? Move, dammit!_

"T-th-that's ok. The ground is more comfortable anyway," I stuttered as Hazel-Eyes helped me to my feet. He laughed, and it was one of the most wonderful sounds I'd ever heard. _Why am I acting this way? He's just some random guy._

"You alright?" I practically melted under his concerned gaze. Even I admit he's cute. His black hair was pulled up into a ponytail on top of his head, but it was short enough that it just stuck up in the air instead of falling down. It kind of made his head look like a pineapple. _Huh, I wonder if anyone's ever said that to him before?_

"Y-yeah. I'm f-fine. Arigato*." I thanked. He just nodded before looking back at the two people standing behind him.

"Oh, my name's Shikamaru by the way, and this is Choji and Ino." they each nodded at me in turn, Ino throwing a smile my way. They all looked at me expectantly. Well actually Shikamaru and Ino looked at me expectantly, Choji looked like he wanted to eat me. Literally.

"I'm Yumi," I said, forcing a small smile. The best way to avoid suspicion is to feign normalcy. Or so I believed. If someone believes you're the same as every other idiot in the world then they'll be less likely to question your intentions. They all nodded and we stood in awkward silence for a few moments before I remembered I hadn't checked into my hotel yet. I started backing away. "I have to go and check into my hotel," I gestured over my back in the general direction of the hotel."Dewa mata**?"

"Uhh, yeah, I guess," Shikamaru shrugged and waved lazily. I waved back before turning around and running away. "Women are so bothersome..." I smirked to myself when I heard Shikamaru's voice as I ran.

I couldn't stop thinking about him. He had intoxicated my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. Everytime I tried to think of something, anything, he'd pop in again. This was highly unlike me. I never acted like this, ever. If I didn't want to think about someone or something, I didn't. But I couldn't _stop_ thinking about him. I sat up on my bed, laying around here wasn't doing me any favors. Leaving me alone to my thoughts never had a good outcome. I decided to take a walk through Konoha again. It was dinner time so I headed out to find a new place to eat. Don't get me wrong, I like ramen just as much as the next person, I just don't _love_ it. I searched around for a good place to eat and soon found a place called Yakiniku Q. It seemed fairly full, which is always a good sign. I pushed the door open and waited to be seated. It wasn't long before a man wearing a white shirt and black dress pants walked up to me.

"Good evening Miss. Is it just you tonight?" I nodded and he grabbed a menu before leading me over to a booth in the far corner of the restaurant. "Your server will be with you shortly," he said as he placed the menu and a glass of water down in front of me. I didn't reply and studied the menu intently. While they did have a fairly large selection of different foods I settled on just some rice. I sighed and put the menu down, sipping on my water as I waited for someone to take my order. A woman with her brown hair tied up in a tight bun came over and smiled kindly at me, pen and pad of paper held at the ready.

"Hi, my name's Amaya and I'll be your server this evening," she paused, throwing me another annoyingly bright smile. "Have you decided-"

"Just an extra large bowl of plain rice," 'Amaya' glared at me before jotting something down and huffing away. Whatever, like I needed _her_ friendship. I don't need anyone's friendship. I stared at the table while I waited for my food to come and lazily traced the pattern on it with my finger, it had a wood grain I'd never seen before... I nearly jumped through the roof when someone coughed next to me. It was very unlike me to be caught off guard so easily, I must've been really out of it. I snapped my head to the side to glare at whoever it was. I definitely wasn't expecting _them_.

"Oh, hey Shikamaru, Ino, Choji," Great. Just the people I didn't want to see. "What brings you guys here?" Ino sauntered up and wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's waist, making me narrow my eyes at her. Though I'm not sure why, seeing as I had no feelings whatsoever towards either one of them.

"We're celebrating Shika-kun's birthday!" I raised my eyebrows at this, looking at Shikamaru for confirmation. He just shrugged.

"It's all a drag to me." I smirked at this, I found something different about him. He wasn't as rudimentary as the others that I'd met so far. Same with Kakashi. They both had an air of intelligence and alertness about them that most others lacked.

"Mind if we join you?" I blinked. I hadn't been expecting that. They wanted to join me? Why? They barely knew me. I was a total stranger. _It's not like I'll ever see them again though, I'm leaving in a few days._ _Besides, it'll be interesting to see where this will lead._

"Uh... Sure, I guess." Ino smiled and sat down opposite me, Choji joining her. That left me and Shikamaru together. Perfect.

Amaya returned shortly with my rice and took the other's orders before throwing me another glare. Shikamaru noticed this and gave me a questioning look. I shrugged, not supplying him with any further answer and shoved in a mouthful of rice but nearly spit it all over the table. It was freaking hot! I started coughing uncontrollably and I fanned at my open mouth to help it cool off. Ino looked at me like I was stripping off all my clothes, Choji just stared at my bowl of rice hungrily and Shikamaru awkwardly patted my back.

I swatted him away and reached for my water, which was now in front of him since I had slid over to make room for him, I crawled over him and sat on his lap unknowingly while I downed the entire glass in one breath. I slammed the glass down on the table and sucked in a much needed breath. Then I realized what I was sitting on. Well, actually it was more like _who_ I was sitting on. My eyes widened and I felt my face heat up. I quickly slid off Shikamaru and back to my seat, and mumbled an apology to Shikamaru, who's face was a bright shade of red. Ino started laughing and pointed at both me and Shikamaru.

"You're both so cute!" She leaned on an annoyed looking Choji as she continued laughing her head off. I scowled, at her. Shikamaru's eyes flickered over to me but he quickly looked away again, his red face deepening to an even darker shade of red.

I smirked and decided to play with him a bit, "Don't worry Shika-kun," I batted my eyelashes at him flirtatiously as I continued, "I won't try anything if you don't. But, I can't make any promises..." I winked at him and his eyes widened and his face was now so red it was almost purple.

"Oh man... What a drag." He ran a hand down his face and sunk further into his seat.

The rest of the night went relatively the same. Me and Ino making fun of Shikamaru, him blushing. He was quite entertaining to say the least. Their sensei even showed up later, Asuma, I think it was. He had seemed nice enough, though we didn't really talk much.

As I laid in bed that night I pondered on all that had happened. Talking with Takeshi about Oreo dude who wanted me to join him, coming to Konoha, meeting new people. It all seemed so strange. I'd been alone for six years, almost seven, and I wasn't used to being around other humans, except for those sent by Takeshi to kill me. But that hadn't exactly been a positive relationship. I sighed, something I'd been doing an awful lot lately, and closed my eyes, letting sleep consume me.

Hope you enjoyed!

* Arigato= Thank you.

** Dewa matta?= See you later?

Comment-

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Kumiko Sakamoto


	6. Chapter 3

Here's chapter threee! Whoop whoop! :p Pleasedon'tkillmeifit'sreallybad!

Yumi's pov.

 _"No! Mommy!" My eight year old self called out, reaching forward to grasp at my dead mother's hand. I pulled away, it was cold. Tears began to form in my eyes as I gazed at my deceased mother, not quite understanding what had happened to her._

 _"Yumi!" I hiccupped and looked over at my older sister._

 _"Y-Yukiko! M-mommy's sl-sleeping and I- I can't wake her u-up!" My older sister bent down and held me by my shoulders, looking me in the eyes._

 _"Yumi, you have to be brave, ok? Okaa-san* had to go away," I furrowed my eyebrows at my older sister. Go away? But I was just looking at Mommy... "Yumi!" Yukiko shook me, bringing me out of my thoughts. My deep blue eyes snapped back to hers. "You have to run," my eyes widened. There was no way I was going to leave my Onee-chan! I began to protest, fresh tears forming in my eyes, but Yukiko interrupted me. "Yumi, I'm not asking. You have to," she kissed me on the forehead before pushing me away, her eyes showing her sadness._

 _I tripped over my own feet and fell on my butt, causing the tears that had been forming in my eyes spill over and drip down my face. I sobbed uncontrollably. Yukiko had turned away and disappeared into the darkness of the night. I squeaked in surprise when I saw two red eyes glowing in the dark and shied away from them._

 _"Don't be afraid," I blinked. Why did that voice sound so familiar? I realized why when my older cousin, Takeshi, stepped out into the open._

 _"Takeshi! You've gotta' help me! Onee-chan**, Okaa-san are gone a-and I don't know what to do!" I ran over and hugged his waist, sobbing into him. I paused after a few moments and looked up at him. His glowing red eyes scared me even though I knew I possessed the same ones. "Takeshi?" My cousin smirked dangerously at me and my eyes widened as he pulled out a kunai and twirled it on his finger._

 _"Don't try and run Yumi. There's no point, I'll catch you eventually," I was shaking uncontrollably now, I was terrified. I could feel the waves of hate and death rolling off him. I backed away from him, what was wrong with him? His normally amused smirk had twisted into a quite scary grin and his eyes had a crazed look to them. He took a few steps forward and I took several back, something in my head had clicked when I noticed the red liquid on his hands. I gasped as I realized what it was... Blood. My family's blood. Something snapped in me. How could he? How could my Takeshi -my own cousin- kill his family and everyone he loved?_

 _"How could you? How could you do this to us, Takeshi? We're your family! We all love you-!"_

 _"No! Don't talk to me about love, Yumi. I've never been loved. Not truly. You always got all the love from our precious clan," I blinked, stunned at how venomously he spoke about our clan. How could he say that? I had loved him my whole life, he was like my big brother._

 _"But-"_

 _"Everyone was always talking about how fantastic you were. 'Oh, did you hear what Yumi did today?' 'Did you know she's the youngest of our clan to master her Kekkei Genkai?' Did anyone ever pay attention to me? No. And I've always hated you for it," my head jerked back from shock. He hated me? The person I had never seen any wrong in, who I'd loved unconditionally, hated me? "Yumi," he spat out my name like it was poisonous. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time."_

 _He threw the kunai at me and I, being too shocked to move, didn't try to move to dodge or block it. It sunk deeply into my stomach and I screamed in pain, sinking to my knees. I grasped the handle of the kunai and ripped it out of my stomach, gasping in pain as I tore the wound open even more. I cradled the wound with my left hand and held the kunai in my right. The pain from the hole in my stomach had brought me to my senses and snapped me out of my shock._

 _I felt a hatred that I'd never had before, it twisted inside me and made my blood feel like it was on fire... It felt good. I growled and smiled at the ground before looked up at Takeshi. His eyes flashed with fear for a moment before going cold once again. "So it's true. You have mastered it." I felt confused for a moment, my anger forgotten, before my stomach twinged painfully and I winced. I felt the hatred flow back into my body, heightening my senses. I suddenly lunged at my cousin, moving so fast that I disappeared for a moment and reappeared behind him._

 _"I always loved you Takeshi," he stiffened and tried to turn around but I jumped up so I could reach his neck and hit a pressure point, making him collapse to the ground unconscious. He may have been a murderer, but he was still my cousin and I couldn't bring myself to kill him._

 _As the adrenaline slowly began to fade I sunk to my knees, crying, my hair and eyes fading back to their original color as I deactivated my Kekkei Genkai. I had lost my family today... I punched the ground and screamed at the sky. "Why me?" I sobbed into my hands for hours as I surveyed the wreckage that was once my home. When I found the mutilated body of Yukiko where the kitchen used to be I wept even harder. I ran to her side and cradled her head in my arms, sobbing into her soft, dark blue hair. After a while no tears came and I cried dryly, still cradling my sister's limp body._

 _Eventually I couldn't stand looking at her anymore and headed down to a nearby pond and sat on the bank. I gasped when I saw my reflection; my face was dripping from blood that streamed from my eyes. Was this what happened from overusing my Kekkei Genkai?_

I jerked awake screaming at the top of my lungs. Once I realized I wasn't in any danger the tears came. I had already lived through it once, I couldn't stand having to see it again. I tried to hold the tears in but they just flowed harder. I was ashamed of myself, after that day I had sworn to never cry in self pity again. And what was I doing? Exactly that.

I walked over to the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water, trying to wake myself up. _Snap out of it Yumi._ I lifted up the hem of my shirt to expose my stomach and gently ran my fingers along the scar I had gotten that night. It was an ever present reminder of what had happened. I sighed and changed my clothes, pulling on my green shirt and wrapping my arms to cover the scars I had gotten from training. I headed out of the hotel and grabbed some dry cereal at a shop before wandering around Konoha.

I stumbled upon a training field with three tall posts at the center and targets painted on some of the surrounding trees. I quickly scarfed down the rest of the cereal and pulled out several kunai, taking my place at the center of the field. Taking a deep breath I activated my Kekkei Genkai, my eyes turning red and my hair fading to white.

I closed my eyes and spun the kunai on my fingers. I threw my arms out in front of me and released them, quickly grabbing more and throwing them also, all while keeping my eyes closed. I heard the sound of metal hitting metal and smirked when I heard the kunai hitting all the targets.

I heard someone suck in a breath behind me and my eyes snapped open as I spun around quickly, Kekkei Genkai still activated and kunai in hand. I suspiciously eyed the raven haired boy before me. He looked almost exactly like a certain Uchiha I'd had the misfortune of meeting once. No, he had been taller and had two scars running diagonally along his face under his eyes. The one standing before me returned my suspicious stare and kept his distance, which I was thankful for.

"How much did you see?" I wanted to know if I held any advantage over him if he he decided to attack.

"All of it," Well, dang. My clan had told me I was only supposed to use my Kekkei Genkai in an emergency, so then if they'd seen all my taijutsu or ninjutsu I would still have an edge over them. I sighed and rubbed my temple, standing up straight and unclenching my fists. "What was that?" I looked up at the Uchiha before me, his eyes had changed from suspicious to curious. I sighed.

What could it hurt?

 _Everything._

On the other hand, he didn't look like he could _scratch_ me, even with thirty clones fighting along with him.

"My Kekkei Genkai," I didn't feel like elaborating any more, it's not like I'll ever see him again anyway. His eyebrows rose in surprise. What had he thought it was? Some sort medical condition that made me a super awesome ninja? Riiiight. For being an assumed Uchiha he wasn't too great in the mental department. "Who are you anyway?"

"Me?" He smirked. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha." I thought as much. Although I was slightly surprised, I had assumed Itachi was the last of the Uchihas... I'd have to check into that later. "And you?" I raised my eyebrows at Sasuke.

"It's better for the safety of this village if I remain anonymous," Sasuke's smirk dropped and he almost looked angry. What? He'd thank me for it later. _If_ we ever saw each other again that is, and that was highly unlikely. I turned my head to the side, facing a clump of bushes. "And you three supposedly 'hiding' in the bush can come out now," Three figures climbed out of the bushes and I was surprised that I recognized two of them. "Ah, Naruto and Kakashi. Long time no see," The two males sweat dropped and the pink haired girl looked between them and me trying to figure out what she'd missed.

"Yumi, this is Sakura Haruno, and you apparently already know Naruto," I gave Sakura a small half hearted smile before nodding in confirmation to Kakashi.

"Yeah, we met yesterday at Ichiraku's Ramen Shop," the blonde boy's eyes widened and his jaw fell open.

"Wait, you? But that girl didn't look anything like you! She had dark blue hair and mismatched eyes!" I rubbed the back of my head and deactivated my Kekkei Genkai, my hair becoming blue once again and my eyes returning to normal. Sakura and Naruto both stared at me, slack jawed. I just smiled sheepishly and laughed. I could still tell that Kakashi and Sasuke were still suspicious of me though. Sighing, I raised my hands up in a surrendering motion, hoping to show them I was no threat.

"Relax guys, I'm not going to kill you," they seemed to relax but I couldn't help wanting to mess with them anyway. "Yet," Naruto eyed me, trying to decide if I was joking or not. Everyone else sweatdropped. "Not that I couldn't wipe the floor with all of you if I really wanted to..." My eyes flickered back to Kakashi briefly, studying his face. I wonder what he's hiding under that mask? Probably something interesting... With only one eye visible he looks pretty weird, it just stares at you, sucking in your soul. It was kind of freaky honestly.

I was about to try and grab Kakashi's mask and see for myself but suddenly I was being held by my throat, my feet dangling uselessly in the air. I grabbed onto the hands that held fast to my neck and glared at Sasuke.

"Don't underestimate me Yumi," He warned, his hands tightening around my throat. I wasn't the slightest bit scared though. After living on my own for nearly seven years and having those goons that Takeshi sends always tailing me, I'd been in way worse situations before. Sasuke was lucky I hadn't ripped his arm off already. "I'm more powerful than you know," I snorted. Suuuure, keep telling yourself that duck-butt. I was about to say something but Kakashi had put a hand on Sasuke's arm before I could.

"Sasuke, it seems you're the one who's underestimated her. In fact, she's probably the most powerful one here," The three genin gaped at me and I crossed my arms and smiled smugly at them.

"Now put me down Uchiha, unless you want to lose your arm?" Sasuke's eyes widened and he put me back down on the ground. As I rubbed my neck Naruto came up to me, squinting right up in my face.

"You sure Kakashi-sensei? I mean, she sure doesn't look like she's very dangerous," he said. I deadpanned. Like the boy who looked like a walking piece of candy corn could talk about appearances.

"Looks can be deceiving, Naruto," I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "And I hope that goes for you too. Otherwise you're just a bothersome, ramen eating kid with an annoying voice," he glared at me as I tapped him on the nose, making him flinch.

"Even more powerful than you, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looked up at her sensei with big, green eyes. Kakashi shrugged, like meeting a fourteen year old with an ANBU skill level was something he did on an everyday basis.

"Probably."

Awww, it was kind of sad writing the part where her family got killed.. :( Yumi even had a sister! :'( First person to come up with a cool name for her Kekkei Genkai gets the next chapter dedicated to them and a full book reading visit from me! :) Did any of you notice how her father wasn't mentioned? Hmmm... I wonder what that's all about? :D I hope you liked it and didn't find it too boring! I personally like that Yumi's strong, I've read sooooooo many books where the main character's a total wuss and was getting pretty tired of it.

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Kumiko Sakamoto


	7. Chapter 4

**Yumi's pov.**

"Probably."

Sakura's jaw hit the ground, as did Naruto's at their sensei's words. Sasuke was positively fuming, fists clenching and unclenching. Seriously, I was surprised steam wasn't coming out of his ears. Aww, had my awesome skills damaged poor Sasuke's ego? Cry me a river, Uchiha.

"Her? B-but how is that possible? She's my age!" Sakura cried, making me glare at her.

"How old are you anyway? Nine? Ten? I didn't know they let such young kids become Geinin..."

"I'm twelve!"

"Really? Hmm... You sure don't look like it," my eyes slipped down to her chest and she blushed, crossing her arms over said area.

"I'm probably older than you!" She huffed, making me roll my eyes.

"I'm fourteen, actually. So no, you're not older than me," I stated blandly.

Sakura muttered something about being more mentally mature than me and started walking away. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, I don't have time to waste arguing with baby faced weirdos," I ignored her remark and instead paid attention to the three people still remaining. Naruto bounced up to my side and hung on my arm, before I shoved him off and he fell face first onto the ground, that is.

"Don't touch me, baka."

"Ouch," Naruto whimpered. He rubbed his head as he stood back up, muttering incoherent things under his breath.

"What was that, Naruto?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the annoying boy.

His face took on a slightly panicked expression for a moment before he regained what little composure he had, "Uhh, well... I was just going to ask you and Kakashi-sensei to spar a little. You know, to prove your skills and whatever."

Kakashi glanced at me before shrugging and distancing himself from me, taking up a fighting stance. Sighing, I did the same. Though there was no way I was going full out with this: The last thing I needed was a dead Leaf Shinobi.

I stood there waiting for Kakashi to make the first move, but he didn't do anything, he just stood across from me with a constipated look on his face. Then I realized that his chakra signature was off, if only by a little, and I pulled out a kunai and flung it at Kakashi's head. I heard Naruto and Sasuke take in audible breaths as Kakashi's eyes widened in shock as the kunai found it's mark and sunk deeply into his forehead before the clone poofed out of existence.

I began slowly pacing, searching all around for any signs of where Kakashi was hiding. He must've been hiding his chakra signature because the only ones I was picking up on was those of Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto. Then I heard it; the slight sound of breathing off to my right. Faintly smirking, I ran, seemingly disappearing, and reappeared next to Kakashi. He seemed surprised at my sudden appearance, clearly not expecting me to be as fast as I was, and jumped to his feet.

"Well this is boring," I said. Kakashi made a noncommittal grunt in response and performed some hand signs, which I copied, and we both poofed into the clearing, standing opposite one another once again. We both stared at each other with equally bored expressions.

I turned towards Naruto, who was staring excitedly at us like we had just performed the Amaterasu, and voiced my thoughts, "Naruto, this is pointless. I'm not going to beat up your sensei."

"Aw, c'mon you guys!" Naruto made punching and slicing motions in the air enthusiastically as he spoke, "Actually _do_ something! You haven't even been trying!"

At this point what little patience I had was whittled down dangerously low and I rounded on Naruto, glaring, "Look, I've been pretty patient with you until now, Naruto. I have nothing to prove to you, any of you. Besides, sometimes I get carried away and end up doing something I regret when I fight. When I was little I had nearly killed one of my friends in a supposedly 'friendly' sparring match," I said, using air quotes when I spoke the word 'friendly'.

Naruto's eyes grew large as he stared at me, "What happened to her?"

"She didn't die, if that's what you're worried about," Naruto let out an audible breath at that. "But she did have to be taken to the hospital and was in critical condition for months. After that I blatantly refused to fight anyone, afraid that I would lose control and actually end up killing someone. Back then I actually cared if I killed someone, you see," I explained when Naruto looked slightly confused. "You wouldn't want that someone to be your sensei, now would you?" I asked.

Naruto shook his head as he replied, "No... But I still wanna see you fight!" He pouted.

"Perhaps someday you will, but this is neither the time nor the place," I replied.

Naruto didn't say anything for awhile, then surprised me with a question, "Why do you talk like that?"

I tilted my head to the side, "Like what?"

"You talk all grown up," I would have laughed if it weren't for the seriousness in Naruto's voice.

"Do I? Hm, I hadn't noticed... Perhaps it's because I never had anyone teach me any other way? To be honest the only people I ever really talked to are all dead..."I could only remember small snippets of conversation from when I was little and since then my only interaction with other people had been brief, perhaps me asking for directions to the nearest town or me and yet another assassin facing off and it wasn't like I'd ever had an in depth conversation with any of them. I'd never really thought of the way I spoke as being different from others near my age.

"Yumi?" I looked up and saw Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke staring at me.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking..." I shook my head and focused my attention back on the three shinobi standing before me. "But anyway, I hate to break up this cozy little gathering but I have to be on my way. People to see and places to go, you know!" I nodded curtly at them before turning and plucking my kunai out of the trees. Naruto followed me and fidgeted behind me, seemingly trying to decide on what to say, for awhile before speaking, "Yumi?"

"What?" I snapped. The blonde boy flinched at my harsh reply and played with his fingers nervously.

"W-well... I uh, I was wondering if you uhh... couldmaybehelpmetrain?" He peeked up at me through his eyelashes hopefully. He had said the last part so fast I almost hadn't understood him, which made me wonder if I had heard him right. He wanted me to help him train? I was literally stunned, I had no idea what to say. Nobody had ever asked me anything like that before, and besides that, who'd want to? I'm rude, hostile and an overall buzz kill.

"I, uh... well, I-I can't," All the hope drained from Naruto's face and his shoulders drooped.

"I understand," he mumbled. I felt a tiny flicker of an unfamiliar emotion as he turned and walked away. Surely I didn't feel regretful that I had turned him down? Why would I? I had not feelings what so ever towards him. He was just another bug that crawled around on the same planet as I. I had to leave and staying wasn't an option. Was it? I shook my head, no, of course not, I couldn't stay here because Takeshi would find me and take out his wrath on this village just like he did last time I stayed somewhere too long. Images of burning houses and screaming people filled my head as I recalled what he had done to the last village that was unfortunate enough to have me as a guest. I was like a disease that brought death with it wherever I went and I couldn't let more innocent people die because of me. Besides, why would I want to stay in this stupid village anyway? I didn't care about any of the people in it and they didn't care about me. But it wouldn't hurt to stay just a little longer...

I hadn't realized how far I had walked until I ran into someone. Again.

"Oh man, hey Yumi," when I didn't respond he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and stopped me. "You alright?" I could see concern in his eyes and it confused me. Concern? For me? No, it couldn't be for me, something must've already been bothering him.

I nodded in answer to his question."Yeah, but we really need to stop meeting like that," He laughed briefly and we started walking again. He started talking but I wasn't listening. I had been sucked back into my thoughts. There had been a lot of strange things happening to me since I'd come to this town. Someone felt concerned for me, another wanted my help... And strange, foreign feelings had been awoken in me.

I felt someone staring at me and looked over at Shikamaru, "W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?" What's going on with my voice? Did I just, stutter? I don't stutter. Ever. Come to think of it, the last time I stuttered was probably when I was very little... Before my clan was killed off, most likely.

"Your hair is really pretty..." Shikamaru's words brought me back to reality, as did the light touch of his hand on my cheek. I eyed him carefully as he began to lean in, his eyes never once leaving my lips, but I quickly pulled away when he got too close for comfort. What the hell was he thinking? He surely couldn't have been trying to do what I think he was doing? At least, I hoped not. I'd never had anyone have romantical feelings towards me, nor I anyone. In my delirious and admittedly nervous state, I wasn't in control of my full faculties and tripped over a poorly placed tree root. I fell backwards and my head slammed against the ground painfully. Blackness danced at the edges of my vision and it was hard to keep my eyes focused. I closed them to blink but they wouldn't open back up. Shikamaru's cry was the last thing I heard before the darkness consumed me.

My mind was foggy, like it had been covered with a thick blanket and then thrown into a dark closet. I tried to open my eyes but something at the back of my mind t let me, it told me just to snuggled further into the fuzziness of the blankets and sleep and I obliged, grasping at what I assumed to be a pillow and snuggling into it further.

"Yumi?" I frowned, who was that? It sounded familiar... And very close. Where was it coming from? I struggled to open my eyes and finally managed to crack one open, only to snap it shut and cover my face with my hands when the bright light from the room invaded the comfortable darkness.

"Mmph..." I heard clothes rustle as someone assumedly adjusted their position and I made another attempt at opening my eyes, this time using my hands to shade them from the harsh light. I squinted around at the super bright room trying to figure out where I was then I looked down at the bed I was laying on and when I noticed the unattractive hospital gown ganging limply on my body everything clicked into place.

"How do you feel?" My eyes snapped over to the owner of the voice that had brought me back to reality. As it would turn out, the voice I had heard calling my name belonged to Shikamaru and while I looked at him the memories of what had happened flashed back into my mind. Shitake mushrooms. Now it'd be all awkward between us (Not that we had an exactly 'normal' relationship, if you could even call it that, to begin with.) and there'd be all sorts of crap to sort out. Suddenly, a warm hand grabbed my own cold one. My eyes widened and I looked down to see Shikamaru had entwined his fingers with mine and now held my hand against his chest. His hand was comfortably warm and it, admittedly, felt nice. But nice was overrated. I pulled my hand out of his and looked awkwardly around the room, making sure not to make eye contact with him.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'll live," I said flatly. He raised his eyebrows but didn't push it. Then I remembered what I had decided yesterday and I nearly knocked Shikamaru over when I sprang from my bed and practically flew out the open window, ignoring the calls from behind me to stop. I had to see the Hokage as soon as possible. I ran as fast as I could and jumped up to the Hokage's office, barging in through one of the windows. "Lord Hokage! I-" I stopped mid-step as I realized I had just interrupted something. The elders were all seated in front of the Hokage's desk and Asuma, Kakashi and several other Leaf Shinobi I didn't recognize were there as well. "Oh, uh, sorry. I'll just come back later," I started heading back towards the window but the Hokage stopped me.

"It's alright, child. You wished to speak with me?" he smiled and motioned for me to take a seat in one of the empty chairs.

I hesitated for a moment before bowing slightly and doing as I was told. "Hai, Hokage-sama." I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. There was nothing to freak out about, I was merely speaking to the Hokage about extending my stay slightly. "I- I'd like to stay her a little while longer, if I could, Hokage-sama," I said, keeping my voice impartial. The smile that overtook the Hokage's features was immediate and he chuckled.

"Of course you can, Yumi. How about I make some more comfortable living arrangements for you?" He asked and I smiled lightly back at him.

"That'd be wonderful. Arigato, Lord Hokage." I stood, bowed and exited (through the door this time), heading towards the hotel with a slight, unintentional smile on my face.

 **Stay Awesome**

 **Kumiko Sakamoto**


	8. Chapter 5

**Yumi's Pov.**

I breathed in. Then back out. In, out. I had to steady my fast beating heart, keep myself calm. The Hokage had arranged for me to stay in a vacant apartment at the edge of town and that's where I was now, trying, and failing, to keep calm about the eight legged and who-knows-how-many eyed arachnid that stuck in the corner of the ceiling in my bedroom. I had awoken that morning to the sight of the large, fuzzy spider crawling up my wall and, I kid you not, it was positively huge. If spread out it would have been at least seven inches in length. There was nothing else in the world that truly freaked me out other than spiders. They were my one true fear, and I had a big one sitting just a few feet in front of me. The only reason I hadn't run from the room screaming bloody murder was the fact that the arachnid decided the best place to make it's happy home was the corner right above the door. I was now fervently regretting choosing the bedroom that didn't have any windows in it.

At this point, all rational thoughts had left my mind, leaving only one behind: _You're trapped in a room with your one fear. You're screwed._ Like stated before; all rational thoughts had left my mind, otherwise I wouldn't have been freaking out like a little girl that just been told Santa Clause was fictional. To top off the positively _fantastic_ day I was having, I was supposed to meet with Shikamaru's squad for some sparring at training ground 3 at noon, and it was now 12:45. If there was anything that ticked me off, it was being late, or late people. Not that it could really be helped in this instance. But it's the principle of the thing.

The spider moved, bringing me back to reality, and I watched cautiously as it scurried down from the ceiling and onto the floor, heading right for me. I screeched unnecessarily loud and jumped off my bed, scrambling for the door before the spider could reach me. I slammed the door shut behind me and leaned against it, heaving a relieved sigh. I lingered there for a moment, attempting to catch my breath, and closed my eyes. When I felt something soft brush up against my ankle my eyes snapped open and I looked down. The spider was climbing up my leg. A strangled scream escaped my lips and started flailing around in an attempt and throwing the brown arachnid off, but it didn't work. Apparently, spiders _love_ me because that thing clung to my leg like I was it's life line. For all I knew, maybe I was. Maybe the spider was planning on biting me and sucking all my blood or something.

My legs were beginning to hurt and my kicks were getting less and less sharp. Something had to be done or some one would end up with one less leg. I'll give you a hint; It wouldn't have been the spider. It took all my courage to bend down and grasp the fuzzy thing with my hands and throw it as far away from me as possible.

As I was releasing it, about to send it sailing across the room, it's pincers closed in around one of my fingers and I hissed in mixed pain and fear. I wanted to examine the wound but I knew if I lingered much longer I'd have an angry spider chasing me around again. So, I bolted for the front door and slammed it behind me. My sigh caught in my throat when my finger throbbed painfully and I lifted the bite to examine it. It was two round bite marks that ran lengthwise along the top of the pointer finger of my left hand. Blood dripped from my hand to the ground, but it looked like it was already beginning to stop. I grabbed a small bandage from the pouch around my waist and began wrapping the spider bite. _I just hope it wasn't poisonous. Dying would definitely put a damper on my mood._

I tied off the bandage and stuffed the remaining material back into the pouch. _Might as well head to training ground 3, they might still be waiting._ I headed off in the direction I had been told that training ground 3 was.

I swear, as soon as I decided to go somewhere everyone else did too. There were people just standing in the middle of the street staring at random junk like one would the Crowned Jewels. If I wasn't in a hurry it wouldn't have bothered me so much; normally I'd just walk past them without giving them a second glance, but in a hurry I was and I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for a particular group of gawkers to move on, allowing me to pass.

Finally, I couldn't take it any more and I barged through the throng of people that had grouped together in one big blob, ignoring the shouts and protests from said people.

"I wouldn't have to shove you if you'd stop staring at random stuff like it's the most amazing thing in the world! Seriously, it's a rock, there's nothing special about it!" I hollered over my shoulder. They shouted something back but I didn't catch it, I was already sprinting away as fast as I could.

*.*.*.*.*

I arrived a few minutes later at the completely empty training ground.

"They must've already left..." I muttered.

"Who?"

I quickly whipped out a kunai and pinned the owner of the voice against one of the stumps, kunai held to their throat. Ino stood there, eyes open wide in shock and mouth hanging open. I backed away from her, removing the kunai and putting back where it belonged as Ino sucked in a breath of air.

"I apologize, I thought you were someone else."I said, bowing in apology. Ino dusted off her shirt while she glared at me.

"Clearly." She growled. I noticed Choji and Asuma heading my direction, Shikamaru following close behind.

"Hey, Yumi!" Choji greeted with a smile. Asuma nodded at me and I nodded back before turning to Shikamaru, expecting him to greet me in some manner, but he avoided my gaze. Had something happened? Oh, that's right, the last time I had seen him was the almost-kiss. I guess it's typical for people to react to rejection with awkwardness. I decided to leave him be and let him get over it naturally. There was no point in giving him any more false hope, he might be one of those people that clings to a single word of consolation as their last thread of hope. I did _not_ want to deal with a clingy Shikamaru.

"So, ready to do some sparring?" I questioned Asuma. He smirked around his ever present cigarette.

"Of course."

Sparring was disappointingly easy. I ended up against Ino and, lets just say Asuma won't make that mistake again. How was I to know that her reflexes are so slow? I thought she'd catch the kunai before it hit her stomach. It's not like I aimed for any vital organs or anything, but it was enough to scare the kunoichi and her team.

I must say, watching Ino screech about how she's 'too pretty to die' and that 'the world would be deprived of gorgeous women' if she were to die was pretty entertaining. It was almost enough to make me laugh. Almost.

After we had taken Ino to the hospital and she was stitched up and given some pain killers, Asuma informed me that the Hokage had requested to see me. That's where I was headed when I ran into a pair of black haired twin boys. I was walking along, in short lived yet blissful unawareness until I was plowed over by the two boisterous monstrosities. They had been playing tag and slammed right into me, their joyous squealing turning to squeaks of pain and surprise.

"Watch where you're _going_!" I snapped as the two petrified boys scrambled off of me, hastily bowing once they had righted themselves.

"W-we're sorry!" They apologised in unison, "We should have been paying more attention to our surroundings."

"Darn right, you should have." I growled. The two boys flinched, but didn't say anything further, so I stepped around them and continued on my way.

"Man, she was scary! I thought she was gonna kill us!" I heard one of them say as I walked away.

"Yeah! I thought pretty girls were supposed to be nice, but she looked like she could care less about anyone." The other replied. I suppressed a hollow chuckle, if only they knew.

I knocked and waited rather impatiently to be let into the Hokage's office, and another five minutes passed before the door was opened and I walked in, bowing before the Hokage.

"Hello, child. It's good to see you again." The old man greeted warmly.

 _Yeah, I'm sure it's a real treat to speak with me again._ I thought irritably.

"And you, Hokage-sama. May I ask what it is you wanted to speak with me about?" I inquired smoothly, being careful to keep my voice uninterested and emotionless. The Hokage chuckled.

"Yes, yes, I'll get right to the point then," He straightened, and suddenly his frail, kind demeanour changed to one of authority and strength. "Recently, we have had two new Genin accepted into our village and they need another member on their squad before they can take on missions." He explained, "I've heard about your run ins with both Teams 7 and 10. Kakashi and Asuma both said you're a proud, rude and cruel person." I winced. " But, you have amazing skill and even more potential. Yumi, how would you like to join a Squad and become a kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf Village?" The Hokage finished, his friendly smile once again graced his wrinkled lips.

I was beyond surprised. In this day and age, asking random people whom you know next to nothing about to join your village definitely wasn't a good idea. So why was the Hokage asking me that very question? What was it about me that intrigued him so, that he'd want to make me a part of his village? Surely there must have been something, he didn't just come up with this overnight. But the bigger question was whether I should join or not.

My immediate answer should have been no, but, something kept me from blurting the first thing that came to mind, telling me I should at least consider it. But why? I'd never thought about joining a Hidden village, or any other village for that matter, so why did I hesitate in turning down the offer when it came?

"I..." I couldn't even begin to respond. If I did stay, I'd not only be in danger, but I'd be putting the entire village at risk. Not that I truly cared for any of it's inhabitants, but I didn't want any more innocent people to die because of my cousin's misdeeds.

The Hokage, seeing my hesitance, smiled lightly, his eyes crinkling slightly and spoke, "How about you try it for say, one month, and if you don't wish to continue on or stay in the village at the end of that month, you'll be free to leave." I hesitated for a moment, but my voice rang out clearly when I answered.

"Okay. I'll give it a try."

 **Eep! I must say, I like this edited version a TON better than before. It was awful. Seriously. Anyway! Excited about Yumi and her new squad? What do you think they're going to be like? Hehehe, I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out! I hope you enjoyed!**

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